PATERSON — A father and daughter are suing the city claiming they were sold more than $200,000 in worthless tax lien certificates for a non-existent property, homes on which taxes were never in arrears and a piece of land where a school is being built.

“These liens should never have been sold – period,” said attorney Matthew Trella of Clifton, representing John and Guadalupe Fressie. “My client has gone to them and demanded his money back. They have made no attempt to repay, whatsoever.”

A message left with the city’s Law Department about the suit Friday was not returned.

Tax liens are sold at auction based on interest rates. The winning bidder pays off the tax debt and gets a lien in return for that amount plus interest, which starts at 18 percent.

Fressie bid on and won a property at 18 percent interest, but will never collect the full amount, according to the lawsuit. When Fressie redeemed the certificate, the city’s tax collector told him that he would only get 5 percent interest because tax appeals had been filed on the assessment, the suit stated.

The difference in interest rates cost Fressie $33,157, according to the suit.

His daughter bought lien certificates valued at $11,266, but was subsequently told by the city that the liens had been cancelled by mistake, the suit states.

The city has refused to refund her money, according to the suit, filed Dec. 26 in Passaic County state Superior Court.

Another certificate that John Fressie bought for $6,286 was for a property that it was later determined doesn’t exits, the suit claims. “Demand and return of said funds has been made,” the suit states. “The City of Paterson, the tax assessor and tax collector have refused to return said funds.”

Two other liens John Fressie purchased for a total of $193,114 ended up being worthless because “these certificates were wrongfully sold in that the taxes on the property had been fully paid by the owner,” the suit states. “Demand for payment has been made, but the city and its officials have refused to make reimbursement to the plaintiff.”

Guadalupe Fressie bought another lien for $2,338 on property that it was later determined was owned by a disabled veteran and not subject to taxation, according to the suit.

John Fressie purchased yet another certificate for $1,463 on property that was later determined to be located where the city is building a school and which should never have been sold, the suit states. Once again, “Demand for reimbursement has been made but the defendants have refused,” according to the suit.

The suit seeks payment for the value of all the liens plus attorneys fees.

“The one where it’s in the middle of a school property, the city’s position is, ‘We’ll get back to you. We have to look into it.’ And the one where the owner had paid his taxes religiously and they never should have sold the lien in the first place – that’s just outright negligence,” Trella said.